By Kristen Dalton
Nature fascinates me. That's not all. Nature also soothes me when I am anxious. All my life, the outdoors has been a supernatural place of serenity within my soul. I could get lost in it for hours, while my fears are quieted. That is not by accident. Verse 20 of Romans chapter 1 explains why nature nurtures so fully: "God's eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That's why those people don't have any excuse." [Contemporary English Version] It's His. It all belongs to our God Almighty above all. Sure, The Fall of Man (when the very first humans, Adam and Eve, fell to pride, deception, and temptation in the Garden of Eden, causing the first intimate relationship between God and humanity to be cursed) tainted nature, but it could not completely destroy the power of God expressed throughout the history of nature. I shall explicate my stance.
This gets heavy-handed on Scripture now, starting in Genesis chapter 1 with the creation story.
"9And God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.' And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground 'land,' and the gathered waters he called 'seas.' And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, 'Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.' And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, 'Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.' 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.' 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.' And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.'
Originally, nature was good; nature was of God. Despite the curse upon this earth, nature is still good and of God. We exist within the realms of a longstanding humanistic culture that tries to discredit God. What goes on in labs and studios across the world bleeds into what we eat, hear, see, feel, etc. The Fall continues, yet so does His meticulous creation. We humans continue to try everything we can to control, manipulate, and fabricate elements of the natural environment. Some things cannot be substituted.
Three years ago, I was a few weeks into priming and painting a few hundred bee boxes by hand under a pole barn when I was starting a beekeeping operation for a Florida farm. The exercise left me with a lot of time to think, which is one of my favorite things to do. I struggled my way through it with a variety of fears, frustrations, confusions, etc. Of course, I had my happy times too.
One day, this house wren settled on the gate next to where I was working. She stood silent for a bit, then what she does so exquisitely. As if just for me right when I needed to be ministered to yet was all alone, she opened her beak and sang. My goodness, what a joyful noise she made. Something so loud, beautiful, and calming came out of that small stature. Did the Holy Spirit of God specifically guide that bird to me for such a time as I needed it? I know He could have, but I may never know the answer to that question. What I can say, is that our infinite and unparalleled God of agape love designed a system that provides simple blessings as we soldier on from day to day. For that I am grateful. We should all take time to be grateful for even the bits and pieces of nature that can bless us. I am reminded of the old song from my childhood years: "This is the Day," which hails from Psalm 118:24. When we hear the bird sing or see the flower oscillate or smell the basil growing on the porch, let us, like the nature around us, praise our Father who provides for the plants, creatures, and celestial illumination, which all act as simple blessings for us.
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